The one overhead sodium vapor light in the grain elevator complex at Creston, IL is casting ominous shadows from the icicles hanging off the metal overhang. Stars in the night sky shine brightly above, no light pollution out here, especially on this full moon night.
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Slashing through the Heartland, the former Illinois Central mainline provides a straight shot south from Chicago towards the Gulf of Mexico. The route is fast and straight. And on this foggy night, somewhere out in the country south of the tiny town of Ashkum, IL, a distant headlight is approaching. It’s just another freight train, M398, making 50mph or so with tons of lumber, plastics and chemicals, trying to get into Champaign ahead of the due-pretty-soon City of New Orleans. The glow of the headlight on the foggy horizon silhouettes the grain elevator in Ashkum. Pretty soon, the train will be here, I’d better move the tripod.
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I’ve had the lid on this photo for quite some time, and I’m not sure why. To be honest, I guess I forgot about it. It’s easy to forget a time when you stood in the middle of a towns main street on a ladder for over an hour, apparently. Anyway, this is what downtown Hampshire, IL looks like at 1am on a warm and still summer evening. There isn’t much auto traffic (thankfully, as I’ve mentioned the ladder in the road). There also isn’t much rail traffic, despite the appearance of the IC&E 6430 West, rolling across the State Street grade crossing at 10mph. One of the neat features of downtown Hampshire is over there on the left, the old Mobil gas station complete with 1950s signage. On to the photo: Read the rest of this entry »
With all the snow being predicted for Chicago tomorrow, I figured it was time to revisit a favorite winter time shot of mine. This is looking down Canal St. during the evening rush during one of the worst snow storms I can remember recently around here, December 2008. One of the particularly bad things about that storm was its timing, hitting right during the rush hour, bringing everything to a halt. You can see this in the photo below, as cabs, snowplows and pedestrians are struggling to get home, while a Metra train glides across Canal St. unhindered by the winter weather. Read the rest of this entry »
Slipping out of Union Station, one of the last runs for the night on the Metra Southwest Service is bound for Manhattan (the one in Illinois). Heading under a multitude of overhead signals guiding its path out of town, the train picks up speed and the conductor begins to collect tickets, his unmistakable figure (complete with hat) silhouetted in the rear window of the train car. Read the rest of this entry »
